The Time I Felt Old: A Recap of My Last First Week of Undergrad

My senior year of college has already started and the first week flew by quickly. I had quite the busy week: adjusting to my classes, fitting in morning runs and strength training workouts, while balancing my new part time job as a PT Aide. I am also involved in various clubs on campus and my calendar is filling up quickly with meetings, rush events, and guest speakers. Throughout all the bustle of my first week back to reality, I have learned a lot about myself and and about those around me.

This week, I was able to go on two three mile runs on Tuesday/Thursday and do strength training workouts on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Since my earliest class this semester starts at 11am (no more 8am Bio lecture OR 7:30 Kines lecture!), I can run and workout in the mornings. The strength training workout program I follow is the Instagram famous BBG program (1.0) by Kayla Itsines. I am on my second round of completing this program and it is kicking my butt! For a more detailed description of my experience, head on over to my MTS profile (or click here). All in all, being active everyday this week has made me learn that consistency is key in maintaining progress and is an awesome motivator. I also found that I like exercising in the mornings better because I am more likely to follow through with a run or workout and I feel amazing afterward, ready to take on the day ahead.

With my new part time job at the clinic, I have learned the importance of the simple act of asking a patient “How is your day today?”. Not only does this act as a good conversation starter, but can make you seem more approachable and genuine. This is especially helpful in the field of physical therapy because I work with all kinds of people. In my experience so far, asking a patient how their day was often leads to more interesting conversation on a variety of topics. This makes both myself and the patient feel more at ease and start to build rapport. What I also noticed was that some patients love to share and others are a little more reserved. Regardless of these differences, it is imperative to gauge one’s personality in how you approach him/her so their needs can be met.

The biggest thing I learned this week was how far a simple act of kindness can go. I was in the library one afternoon printing out my Physio lecture notes for the next class. For me this is pretty simple and standard because I’ve done hundreds of times before. In the case of an incoming freshman, this is not really the case. As I was standing at the library computer about to print out my document, a girl came up to me and asked for help with printing. I gladly agreed to and while I was explaining to her, another guy came up to use with the same dilemma of not knowing how to print. I was able to help them both and in those quick 5 minutes of directing them, I felt good about myself and also surprised. It felt good to spread my wisdom but I was also pleasantly surprised that these two people approached me for help. I’ve been told that I have a pretty intimidating resting face. I couldn’t help but think “Wow, do I really look like a senior? Do I look that old? Or do I just look like I know what I am doing?” I am aware that I am young, but I couldn’t help but feel this way! Who knew a mundane task of printing lecture notes would make me think so deeply.

These pretty much sum up my thoughts on my first week back at school! I loved seeing my friends again and I am really excited about this fall semester. Now I can rest and study this Labor Day weekend. I hope you all had a great week!

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About the Author

Here you'll find my travel adventures, running antics, and college stories as I finish my undergraduate degree. I hope you'll find some inspiration and humor through my posts and maybe even take note of all the beautiful things in your life, too!